The Arrival

A forest in motion. In 'The Arrival', Gina Kalabishis fills the vast canvas with a flock of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos, Carnaby Cockatoos and Baudin Black Cockatoos sweeping through a richly layered Australian landscape. Their wings carve through eucalyptus haze and ferny undergrowth, bearing witness to the fragility of place and the urgency of now.

This monumental diptych is a visual reckoning—an invitation to listen, to watch, and to act. The cockatoos, once sustained by diverse native habitats, now navigate altered ecologies, their flight paths increasingly disrupted by disease, climate pressure and habitat loss.

Excerpt from catalogue essay by Tim Dolby, author of Finding Australian Birds:

"These birds, with their haunting calls and sweeping silhouettes, are portrayed not just as subjects of beauty but as messengers… They are both witness and warning."

Informed by Gaston Bachelard’s idea of Les Chemins du Désir—instinctive desire paths—Kalabishis’ work explores how our choices, conscious or not, shape the natural world. The Arrival speaks not only of the birds' journey, but of ours.